The present invention is directed to an apparatus for shelling and degerminating corn.
At the present time, corn is processed in large quantities to form the greatest variety of end products. In addition to the wet de-germinating of the corn for starch production, the corn is de-germinated and ground for conventional uses in milling. The end products of the processing in the mill are substantially supplied to the feedstuff and oil industries, the brewing industry, polenta production, the snack product industry or corn flake production. Each of these uses places different demands on the processing in the mill, wherein the investment and processing costs for the processing in the mill increase in the sequence of intended uses named above.
The apparatus, according to the invention, is used for the production of flaking grits which constitute the starting product for corn flake production. The demands placed upon milling are the highest in this instance. The de-germinating and shelling of corn for this purpose have been effected for decades in the "Beall de-germinator". The latter comprises a stator, a rotor being rotatably supported in the stator housing. The stator housing and the rotor form a processing space which is at least approximately annular in cross section and have knobs on their mutually facing sides. In addition, the inside of the stator is divided into siftings segments in the circumferential direction, which siftings segments are provided alternately with knobs or with a sieve hole, respectively. This known apparatus also comprises a stator housing having two parts, whose two halves are separated by a horizontal plane and are swivelable relative to one another around a hinge axis and can be screwed together in the closed state. If the upper half of the stator housing is removed (folded up), the lower half forms a trough, which is shaped like a half-circle in cross section, the rotor which is held in bearing half-shells at the ends lies in the trough. By means of folding up the upper stator housing half, the lower half of the processing space is not accessible. The rotor must also be removed for this purpose. In addition, the Beall de-germinator comprises a conical work space which increases in diameter from the inlet end to the discharge end, and the stator housing and rotor are constructed conically in a corresponding manner. If the work space is to be changed in the direction of the rotor radius corresponding to the nature of the corn to be processed, the rotor is axially displaced in the stator housing. This requires a comparatively costly bearing support. If it is necessary to build such machines for greater outputs with longer processing spaces, the diameter of the rotor and stator housing must be correspondingly enlarged toward the discharge end, as well. Another disadvantage of this apparatus is the fact that the corn dust portion in the flaking grits is high, which detracts from the yield.